Dosing cap comprising a brush device

ABSTRACT

A dosing cap ( 1 ) is proposed for a cleaning agent container ( 20 ), having a cup-shaped cap body ( 3 ) with an open end part ( 4 ) and a closed end part ( 5 ) and a brush device ( 2 ) for the pre-treatment of objects to be cleaned, the brush device ( 2 ) being configured detachable from the brush attachment arranged on the cap body, wherein the brush attachment is configured to be pluggable in such a way that the brush attachment ( 2 ) may optionally be either plugged onto the closed end part ( 5 ) or onto the open end part ( 4 ). Further, a cleaning agent container ( 20 ) having such a dosing cap ( 1 ) and a use of such a dosing cap ( 1 ) for the pre-treatment of laundry to be cleaned is proposed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a dosing cap for a cleaningagent container, comprising a cup-shaped cap body having an open endpart and a closed end part, and comprising a brush device forpre-treating items to be cleaned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dosing caps of this type are generally known. For example, WO2014/004456 A1 discloses a dosing cap in which surface irregularitiesare arranged on the outer base surface of the dosing cap. In this dosingcap, however, it is disadvantageous that the dosing cap has to be turnedaround after applying the dose of washing agent to the laundry to becleaned, so that, by means of the surface irregularities, the washingagent can be distributed over the laundry and rubbed in. As a result,the use of this conventional dosing cap is comparatively laborious.

The problem addressed by the present invention is therefore to provide adosing cap that does not have the drawbacks of the prior art and inparticular allows convenient and user-friendly pre-treatment.

Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the presentinvention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed descriptionof the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A dosing cap (1) for a cleaning agent container (20), comprising acup-shaped cap body (3) having an open end part (4) and a closed endpart (5), and comprising a brush device (2) for pre-treating items to becleaned, characterized in that the brush device (2) is designed as abrush attachment (2) that is detachably arranged on the cap body (3),the brush attachment (2) being designed to be interchangeable such thatthe brush attachment (2) can be placed onto the closed end part (5) orthe open end part (4) as desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote likeelements, and

FIG. 1 shows a dosing cap according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 shows the dosing cap from FIG. 1 in another state;

FIG. 3 shows a brush attachment for a dosing cap according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the brush attachment from FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the brush attachment from FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the brush attachment from FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is another detailed view of the brush attachment from FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 shows a cleaning agent container according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows the cleaning agent container from FIG. 8 in another state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplaryin nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the applicationand uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to bebound by any theory presented in the preceding background of theinvention or the following detailed description of the invention.

The instant dosing cap (1) for a cleaning agent container (20),comprises a cup-shaped cap body (3) having an open end part (4) and aclosed end part (5), and further comprises a brush device (2) forpre-treating items to be cleaned, characterized in that the brush device(2) is designed as a brush attachment (2) that is detachably arranged onthe cap body (3), the brush attachment (2) being designed to beinterchangeable such that the brush attachment (2) can be placed ontothe closed end part (5) or the open end part (4) as desired.

Because it is possible to interchange the brush attachment, it isadvantageously possible to place the brush attachment either on theclosed end part or on the open end part as required or depending on theintended use. If the brush attachment is intended to be visible on thecleaning agent container for presentation purposes, for example on ashelf in a store, the brush attachment is placed on the closed end part.If the brush attachment is intended to be used for pre-treating items,such as laundry, the brush attachment is placed on the open end part.Therefore, using the dosing cap according to the invention, it isadvantageously possible to combine the advantages of the two positionsof the brush attachment. On one hand, the brush attachment can be placedonto the closed end part so that it is visible and provides effectiveadvertising to consumers; on the other hand, it is considerably easierto handle the dosing cap during pre-treatment if the brush attachment isplaced onto the open end part, since the dosing cap makes it possible todistribute and rub in cleaning agent using the brush attachment directlyand without being turned around after the cleaning agent, such as aliquid washing agent, has been applied to the item.

The brush attachment extends in a longitudinal direction, a widthdirection perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a transversedirection perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the widthdirection. If reference is made to “top” or “upper” and “bottom” or“lower” in the following, these positions are given relative to thelongitudinal direction. If reference is made to a cross section or across-sectional area or a cross-sectional plane, this means sections inparallel with the plane that is spanned by the width direction andtransverse direction or that is arranged perpendicularly to thelongitudinal direction.

For example, it may in particular be provided that the brush attachmentis designed to be interchangeable such that the brush attachment is in afirst position when it is placed onto the closed end part or is in asecond position when it is placed onto the open end part, the brushattachment being variably interchangeable between the first position andthe second position. As a result, it is advantageously possible to usethe dosing cap particularly easily.

The dosing cap is designed such that it can be filled with a partialdose of the cleaning agent contained in the cleaning agent container.For this purpose, the dosing cap may for example have marker lines andvolume indicators that display the corresponding fill level. Inaddition, the dosing cap is designed such that it can close an outlet inthe cleaning agent container. In addition, the dosing cap is designedsuch that it can be connected to the cleaning agent container, forexample via a screwed connection. The cleaning agent container may beany type of vessel into which a cleaning agent can be introduced. Thecleaning agent may comprise any type of composition that allows items tobe cleaned. The cleaning agent may be e.g. washing agent, in particularliquid washing agent, and/or detergent, etc. The items to be cleaned maye.g. be laundry and/or tableware.

The cup-shaped cap body may be in any shape that allows the cap body tobe filled with cleaning agent and allows the cleaning agent to beapplied to the item to be cleaned. On the closed end part, the cap bodyhas a closed shape, so that the cleaning agent cannot flow out of thedosing cap. On the open end part, the dosing cap has an opening whichallows the cleaning agent to be poured out of the dosing cap onto theitem. The brush device or brush attachment is designed such that itallows the item to be pre-treated. The brush attachment may be designedsuch that it makes it possible to distribute the cleaning agent over theitem and/or to rub the cleaning agent into the item, for example.

According to an exemplary development, it is provided that the brushattachment comprises a plurality of bristles having a length of from 4mm to 20 mm. In this range of lengths, a comparatively goodpre-treatment effect is advantageously achieved. According to apreferred development, it is provided that the bristles have a length offrom 6 mm to 10 mm, as a result of which very efficient pre-treatmentcan advantageously be achieved. In addition, at this length it isparticularly easy for the consumer to see the bristles when the brushattachment is on the closed end part in the first position and thedosing cap is on the cleaning agent container, which is positioned on ashelf in a store, for example. The plurality of bristles may bedifferent lengths, but it may be provided in particular that all thebristles are the same length. The bristles may in particular becircular-cylindrical, preferably slightly conical.

According to another preferred development, it is provided that thebristles have a diameter of from 0.3 mm to 3.0 mm. In this range ofdiameters, a comparatively good pre-treatment effect is advantageouslyachieved. According to a preferred development, it is provided that thebristles have a diameter of from 0.8 mm to 1.0 mm. As a result, veryefficient pre-treatment can advantageously be achieved. The plurality ofbristles may have different diameters, but it may be provided inparticular that all the bristles have the same diameter.

According to another exemplary embodiment, it is provided that thebristles have a degree of hardness in the range of from 30 to 110 ShoreA. As a result, a comparatively high level of flexibility is achieved,meaning that particularly good pre-treatment is possible. According to apreferred development, it is provided that the bristles have a degree ofhardness of from 50 to 70 Shore A. In this range, optimal pre-treatmentis possible. The plurality of bristles may have different degrees ofhardness, but it may be provided in particular that all the bristleshave the same degree of hardness.

According to another exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the brushattachment comprises an annular brush attachment body designed such thatthe brush attachment body can placed onto the cap body by its lower partand the plurality of bristles are arranged on its upper part. Owing tothis annular design, it is advantageously possible to produce the brushattachment particularly efficiently. The brush attachment body issubstantially rotationally symmetrical to its longitudinal axis, whichextends in parallel with the longitudinal direction. The cross-sectionalplane of the brush attachment body is perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the brush attachment body, and is thus parallel to the planespanned by the width direction and the transverse direction.

In particular, it may be provided that the brush attachment is made ofan injection-molded material. In particular, the brush attachment ismade of a rubber material and/or a plastics material. The brushattachment body is placed onto either the open end part or the closedend part by its lower part. The upper part opposite the lower partaccordingly comprises the plurality of bristles.

By way of example, it may in particular be provided that the brushattachment body has a larger cross section on its lower part than thecross section of the cap body in the region of the closed or open endpart, such that the brush attachment can be placed over the outersurface of the corresponding end part. The brush attachment body can bedesigned such that a sufficiently rigid connection is produced betweenthe brush attachment body and the cap body by sliding the brushattachment body onto the cap body, such that the brush attachmentremains firmly arranged on the cap body for example during pre-treatmentof the item.

An external diameter at the closed end part of the cap body may differfrom an external diameter at the open end part of the cap body.Preferably, the external diameter at the closed end part is less thanthe external diameter at the open end part. A lateral face of the capbody may extend conically at least in the region of the closed end part,such that when it is being manufactured, the cap body can be ejectedfrom an injection-molding die half by its closed end part. Thedifference in external diameter may be at least 2 percent, based on thegreater external diameter.

The brush attachment or the cap body may comprise connecting means sothat a brush attachment placed onto the closed end part and a brushattachment placed onto the open end part can each only be removed byovercoming a removal force, even if, as in the embodiment set out above,the external diameter at the closed and the open end parts is different.The removal force (in the axial direction of the cap body, perpendicularto the cap base) is intended to be greater than 2 N. Preferably, theremoval force for the closed end and the open end is in each casegreater than 20 or even 100 N.

In one embodiment, the connecting means include resilient restoringforces for the brush attachment body. If the brush attachment is placedonto the open end part or the closed end part of the cap body, the brushattachment body widens accordingly. The resilient restoring forces thatoccur ensure that the brush attachment is held securely on the cap body.When the material is selected appropriately (for example silicone,elastomer material), secure positioning on two end parts of the cap bodyis thus possible, even if the external diameters at the closed end andthe open end differ.

The connecting means may comprise adhesive. Alternatively or in additionto the elasticity of the brush attachment body, an appropriate adhesivecan be applied between the brush attachment and the cap body. There isthe option here to apply the adhesive to the outer wall of the cap bodyand, as long as the adhesive is still liquid or is not yet cured, thebrush attachment can be slid onto the closed end of the cap body.Adhesive strips may also be used, which are arranged between the brushattachment and the cap body.

According to another exemplary embodiment, it is provided that the brushattachment comprises a fillet on which the plurality of bristles arearranged, the fillet being arranged in the upper region of the brushattachment body or on the upper part thereof. The fillet is planar andis connected to the plurality of bristles. In particular, the bristlesmay be arranged perpendicularly to the surface of the fillet. Thebristles may be spaced apart at regular intervals and may in particularbe linear, it being possible for a plurality of lines to be arranged insuccession and/or so as to be offset from one another. The bristles mayfor example be spaced apart at regular intervals at a distance of from 1mm to 2 mm.

It may be provided that the fillet is arranged in parallel with thecross-sectional area or cross-sectional plane of the brush attachmentbody. The fillet or its surface is therefore also perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the brush attachment body. According to anexemplary embodiment, the fillet is approximately semicircular andcovers approximately 40% to 50% of the cross-sectional area of the brushattachment body so that an approximately semicircular upper opening isformed. This upper opening is formed between an upper edge of the brushattachment body, which delimits the brush attachment body at the top,and an edge of the fillet, this upper opening allowing the dosedcleaning agent located in the dosing cap to be applied to the item to becleaned by passing out of the dosing cap and past the fillet comprisingthe bristles. As a result, it is advantageously possible to handle thedosing cap particularly easily.

It may in particular be provided that the plurality of bristles aresurrounded by a circumferential collar that is arranged on the fillet.This collar advantageously prevents the cleaning agent fromunintentionally flowing off the fillet or the bristles. It may beprovided that the collar is 2 mm to 10 mm high. Here, the collar extendsperpendicularly to the surface of the fillet and the height of thecollar is the perpendicular extension of the collar relative to thesurface of the fillet. According to a preferred embodiment, the collarheight is 3.0 mm to 4.0 mm.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, it isprovided that the brush attachment comprises ribbing arranged laterallyon the outer wall of the brush attachment body, the ribbing comprisingnotches having a depth of from 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm. The ribbing makes iteasier to grip the brush attachment during pre-treatment by the user.The ribbing comprising the notches also allows the cleaning agent to bedispersed over the item and thus improves the pre-treatment options ofthe brush attachment and dosing cap. It may in particular be providedthat the notches and projections on the outer wall of the brushattachment body regularly alternate, such that a particularly efficientgripping surface or pre-treatment surface is produced. Therefore, forexample, the distance between adjacent notches is approximately 1 mm.

It may in particular be provided that the ribbing comprises at least oneribbed region, which extends in an angular region of from 40° to 60° onthe outside or outer wall of the brush attachment body. Here, “angularregion” means an arc segment arranged on the outer wall of the annularbrush attachment body. This ribbed angular region e.g. makes it possibleto efficiently distribute the cleaning agent. In particular, the ribbingon the outer wall of the brush attachment body may comprise twospaced-apart ribbed regions, which are opposite one another relative tothe longitudinal axis of the brush attachment body. By arranging theribbed regions in this way, particularly efficient pre-treatment ispossible.

The present invention also relates to a cleaning agent container,comprising a dosing cap according to one of the preceding embodiments,wherein the brush attachment is either on the closed end part of thedosing cap in a presentation state of the cleaning agent container or onthe open end part of the dosing cap in a use state of the cleaning agentcontainer. The presentation state may for example be the state which thecontainer is in when the brush attachment is intended to be particularlyvisible to consumers on a shelf in a store. The use state is the statewhich the container is in when the brush attachment or the dosing cap isintended to be used for pre-treatment. It may be provided that in theuse state, the brush attachment is arranged inside the container and istherefore not visible from the outside. Moreover, reference is made tothe statements regarding the dosing cap.

The present invention also relates to the use of a dosing cap accordingto one of the preceding embodiments for pre-treating laundry to becleaned, wherein the dosing cap is filled with a partial quantity of awashing agent from a liquid washing agent container, wherein the partialquantity is applied to the laundry to be cleaned from the dosing cap,and wherein the washing agent applied is distributed over the laundry tobe cleaned and rubbed into the laundry to be cleaned by means of thebrush attachment placed onto the open end part of the cap body.Advantageously, it is possible to place the brush attachment onto theopen end part for pre-treating the laundry, such that the dosing capdoes not have to be turned around after applying the washing agent.Moreover, reference is made to the statements regarding the dosing capand the cleaning agent container.

Embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings and areexplained in greater detail in the following description.

In the various figures, the same parts are always provided with the samereference signs and are therefore also generally labelled or mentionedonly once in each case.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a dosing cap 1 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The dosing cap 1 comprises acup-shaped cap body 3. In this embodiment, the cap body 3 is designed asa hollow circular cylinder. The cap body 3 comprises an open end part 4and a closed end part 5. A brush attachment 2 is placed onto the closedend part 5. The brush attachment 2 extends in a longitudinal directionX, a width direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X anda transverse direction Z perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Xand the width direction Y. If reference is made to “top” or “upper” and“bottom” or “lower” in the following, these positions are given relativeto the longitudinal direction X. If reference is made to a cross sectionor a cross-sectional area or a cross-sectional plane YZ, this meanssections in parallel with the plane that is spanned by the widthdirection Y and transverse direction Z. The brush attachment 2 isannular and has a larger cross section than the closed end part 5, suchthat the brush attachment 2 can be placed over the outer surface of theclosed end part 5. In this embodiment, the brush attachment 2 comprisesa plurality of bristles 6, which are arranged perpendicularly to thesurface of the brush attachment 2. The bristles 6 are surrounded by acollar 7 that is arranged perpendicularly to the surface of the brushattachment 2 and extends around the bristles 6. The brush attachment 2is located on the closed end part 5 in a first position. This firstposition could, for example, be the position in which the dosing cap 1is arranged on a liquid washing agent container 20 when it is placed ona shelf in a store for the purposes of advertising or presentation. Forthe sake of improved clarity, connecting means for connecting the dosingcap 1 to the liquid washing agent container 20, such as a screw thread,are not shown.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the dosing cap 1 from FIG. 1 in anotherstate. In this state, the brush attachment 2 is located on the open endpart 4 in a second position. For this purpose, the brush attachment 2has a greater diameter in cross section than the diameter of the openend part 4, such that brush attachment 2 can be placed onto the open endpart 4. This second position could, for example, be the position inwhich the dosing cap 1 is used for pre-treating laundry. Washing agentis applied to the laundry from the dosing cap 1 and is then distributedover the laundry and rubbed into the laundry by means of the brushattachment 2.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a brush attachment 2 for adosing cap 1 according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The brush attachment 2 comprises a brush attachment body 9.The brush attachment body 9 is annular and has an annular cross sectionin this exemplary embodiment. The brush attachment body 9 issubstantially rotationally symmetrical to its longitudinal axis X, whichextends in parallel with the longitudinal direction X. Thecross-sectional plane YZ of the brush attachment body 9 is perpendicularto the longitudinal axis X of the brush attachment body 9, and is thusparallel to the plane spanned by the width direction Y and thetransverse direction Z. The brush attachment 2 comprises an upperopening 11 and a lower opening 12. In this exemplary embodiment,approximately half of the cross section of the upper opening 11 iscovered by a fillet 8, on which a plurality of bristles 6 are located.In this embodiment, the bristles 6 are spaced apart at regular intervalsand extend approximately perpendicularly to the cross-sectional area YZof the upper opening 11. The distance between adjacent bristles 6 isapproximately 1 mm to 2 mm. The fillet 8 is designed as a flat plate andextends in parallel with the cross-sectional area YZ of the upperopening 11. In this exemplary embodiment, the bristles 6 have a lengthof approximately 10 mm and a diameter of approximately 0.9 mm, thebristles 6 being circular-cylindrical. The bristles 6 are designed to beflexible, and have a degree of hardness of approximately 70 Shore A. Thefillet 8 is surrounded by a collar 7 at its edge. The collar 7 isdesigned to be circumferential on the edge of the fillet 8 and extendsperpendicularly to the cross-sectional area YZ of the opening 11 or tothe surface area of the fillet 8. In this exemplary embodiment, thecollar 7 is approximately 3.5 mm high. The fillet 7 is advantageouslyused, inter alia, to prevent the washing agent from flowing away at thesides of the brush attachment 2.

Ribbing 10, which in this exemplary embodiment has a depth ofapproximately 0.2 mm, is arranged on the outer wall of the brushattachment body 9. The ribbed region 10 extends on the outer wall of thebrush attachment body 9 approximately over an angle of 50°. In thisexemplary embodiment, the brush attachment 2 also has a second ribbedregion 110, which is not shown in FIG. 3, however. This second ribbedregion 110 is opposite the ribbed region 10 on the other side of theouter wall of the brush attachment 2. In this exemplary embodiment, thissecond ribbed region 110 is identical to the ribbed region 10.

This brush attachment 2 can then be used to pre-treat laundry. If thebrush attachment 2 is placed onto the open end part of the cap body 3,washing agent can be applied to the laundry from the dosing cap 1through the remaining opening 11 that is not covered by the fillet 8.Using the bristles 6, the washing agent can be distributed over thelaundry and rubbed into the laundry. Using the lateral ribbing 10, 110,pre-treatment can also take place by the washing agent being rubbed inusing the ribbing 10, 110, which means that it is possible for thelaundry to be treated particularly gently. Alternatively, it is ofcourse also possible to use the brush attachment 2 separately, i.e.without the cap body 3, for pre-treatment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the brush attachment 2 from FIG. 3.The regular spacing of the bristles 6 can be seen in FIG. 4, inter alia.In addition, it can be seen that the collar 7 covers the lower region ofthe bristles 6. In this exemplary embodiment, the fillet 8 has athickness of approximately 1 mm to 2 mm. Moreover, reference is made tothe statements regarding FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the brush attachment 2 from FIG. 3.The cross section of the brush attachment body 9 is symmetrical to thelines of symmetry 13, 14. In this view, it can be seen that the fillet 8covers approximately half of the cross section of the brush attachmentbody 9. The inner part of the fillet 15 is curved outwards, i.e. awayfrom the line of symmetry 13, relative to the axis of symmetry 13 of thebrush attachment body 9 by approximately 2 to 4 mm, such that the fillet8 covers slightly less than half, around 45%, of the cross-sectionalarea of the brush attachment body 9. In addition, in FIG. 5 the twoopposing ribbed regions 10 and 110 are indicated on the outer wall ofthe brush attachment body 9.

FIG. 6 is a schematic detailed view of the brush attachment 2 in theregion of the fillet 8 comprising the bristles 6 in a sectional viewalong the plane that is spanned by the longitudinal axis X and the widthdirection Y. The two dashed bristles 6 are in a common plane, while thetwo non-dashed bristles 6 are one plane behind. Therefore, a bristlethat is one plane behind is arranged between two adjacent bristles 6that are in another plane. This results in an even distribution of thebristles 6 on the fillet 8. Moreover, reference is made to thestatements regarding FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is a detailed schematic cross section of the ribbing 10 on theouter wall of the brush attachment body 9 from FIG. 3. The ribbing 10comprises evenly spaced notches 16 and projections 17 that aredistributed over the outer wall of the brush attachment body 9 in theribbed region 10. In this exemplary embodiment, the notches 16 areapproximately 0.2 mm deep. Using this ribbing 10, the laundry canadvantageously be pre-treated gently. Moreover, reference is made to thestatements regarding FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 schematically shows a cleaning agent container 20, such as aliquid washing agent container 20, according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention. The cleaning agent container 20 comprises adosing cap 1 according to the invention comprising a brush attachment 2.The brush attachment 2 is located on the closed end part 5 of the dosingcap 1. In this position, the brush attachment 2 is clearly visible to aconsumer, for example, when the cleaning agent container 20 is in apresentation state and is presented or displayed for sale on a shelf ina store.

FIG. 9 schematically shows the cleaning agent container 20 from FIG. 8in another state. In this use state, the brush attachment 2 is no longeron the closed end part of the dosing cap 1, but instead the brushattachment 2 has been changed from the closed end part to the open endpart 4 of the dosing cap 1. The brush attachment 2 is therefore insidethe cleaning agent container 20 and is no longer visible from theoutside. In this use state, the dosing cap 1 can be filled with cleaningagent from the container 20, and said cleaning agent can be applied toe.g. the laundry from the dosing cap 1. In a simple manner, using thebrush attachment 2, for example the washing agent can be distributedover the laundry and rubbed into the laundry, without the dosing cap 1needing to be turned around, since the brush attachment 2 is located onthe open end part 4 of the dosing cap 1. Moreover, reference is made tothe above statements.

For the sake of completeness, it should also be noted that theabove-described embodiments are merely used to illustrate the inventionand are not intended to limit the subject matter of the invention in anyway.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 dosing cap-   2 brush attachment-   3 cap body-   4 open end part-   5 closed end part-   6 bristles-   7 collar-   8 fillet-   9 brush attachment body-   10 10, 110 ribbing-   11, 12 opening-   13, 14 line of symmetry-   15 part of the fillet-   16 notch-   17 projections-   20 cleaning agent container-   X longitudinal direction, longitudinal axis-   Y width direction-   Z transverse direction-   YZ cross-sectional plane

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in theforegoing detailed description of the invention, it should beappreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also beappreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments areonly examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability,or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoingdetailed description will provide those skilled in the art with aconvenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, it being understood that various changes may be made in thefunction and arrangement of elements described in an exemplaryembodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dosing cap for a cleaning agent container,comprising a cup-shaped cap body having an open end part and a closedend part, and comprising a brush device for pre-treating items to becleaned, characterized in that the brush device is designed as a brushattachment that is detachably arranged on the cap body, the brushattachment being designed to be interchangeable such that the brushattachment can be placed onto the closed end part or the open end partas desired.
 2. The dosing cap according to claim 1, wherein the brushattachment comprises a plurality of bristles having a length of from 4mm to 20 mm.
 3. The dosing cap according to claim 2, wherein thebristles have a diameter of from 0.3 mm to 3.0 mm.
 4. The dosing capaccording to claim 2, wherein the degree of hardness of the bristles isin the range of from 30 to 110 Shore A.
 5. The dosing cap according toclaim 2, wherein the brush attachment comprises an annular brushattachment body designed such that the brush attachment body can beplaced onto the cap body by its lower part and the plurality of bristlesare arranged on its upper part.
 6. The dosing cap according to claim 5,wherein the brush attachment comprises a fillet on which the pluralityof bristles are arranged, the fillet being arranged on the upper part ofthe brush attachment body.
 7. The dosing cap according to claim 6,wherein the fillet is arranged in parallel with the cross-sectionalplane of the brush attachment body.
 8. The dosing cap according to claim7, wherein the fillet is approximately semicircular and coversapproximately 40% to 50% of the cross-sectional area of the brushattachment body so that an approximately semicircular upper opening isformed.
 9. The dosing cap according to claim 6, wherein the plurality ofbristles are surrounded by a circumferential collar that is arranged onthe fillet.
 10. The dosing cap according to claim 9, wherein the collaris 2 mm to 10 mm high.
 11. The dosing cap according to claim 5, whereinthe brush attachment comprises ribbing arranged laterally on the outerwall of the brush attachment body, the ribbing comprising notches havinga depth of from 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm.
 12. The dosing cap according to claim11, wherein the ribbing on the outer wall of the brush attachment bodycomprises two spaced-apart ribbed regions, which are opposite oneanother relative to the longitudinal axis of the brush attachment body.13. A cleaning agent container, comprising a dosing cap according toclaim 1, wherein the brush attachment is either on the closed end partof the dosing cap in a presentation state of the cleaning agentcontainer or on the open end part of the dosing cap in a use state ofthe cleaning agent container.